


tied in history

by cinderlily



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Hockey, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 12:31:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11290785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderlily/pseuds/cinderlily
Summary: Even though he knows it's rude, Max can't keep his eyes off of Tobi and Connor's Daemons. They are just so... friendly. How aren't other people seeing this?





	tied in history

**Author's Note:**

> Based on freetodream5's idea. So you don't get your Daemon till you find your soul mate. More often in sports it's a platonic soul mate but for some, it can mean something more.
> 
> Written before yesterday's trade. My baby boy Murphs got TRADED. He just got TRADED. My heart hurts. But um. Enjoy?

There was an unspoken rule in all locker rooms that they just didn’t talk about other Daemons. What Daemons do was not really something anyone could control so it wasn't fair to chirp someone based on their activities. Notice a monkey doing something rude? Don’t look. Daemons hissing at each other? Not your Daemon, not your problem. 

But Max couldn't help but notice the closeness of Molly and Lena. How the two of them, the small red fox and the large German Shepard seemed to rotate around each other more than even Connor and Tobi did. They curved around each other, lay in the other's beds during team meetings. There was even talk of them licking at each other during games in their box but he only half believed his Daemon most of the time. (Sierra hung out with Duke's Clair too much, they were always telling stories to get him. It was like his sisters all over again.) 

He wondered if Connor or Tobi noticed it, knew from Duke that the proximity to your soul mate was a charge like no other, but their Daemons were playful with each other… not … well. Intimate. The most that Clair would do was sometimes brush her long Tabby tail along Sierra’s feathers. That mostly sent her into giggles and him into a weird shiver. But constant touching? He couldn’t imagine. 

“Do you think they are _real_ soulmates?” Max asked Duke, voice low even though they were completely alone in the hotel room. 

From the floor Clair let out a rather loud huff, reminding him of his grandma’s Daemon. She wasn’t a Tabby, a Persian instead, but she used to huff a lot when his grandma got riled up. 

“You _think_ ,” Clair purred, then went into a quiet little rant in Quebecois, something she tended to do in front of Max and not many others. Except once, in front of Louis, which got Louis giggling like a child. 

“Clair,” Duke reprimanded, yet gave him a doubtful look. “You really just figuring this out, Max?” 

Max glared at him. “I thought it was a myth, you know? Then with Mike and Shane… I mean. Twice? On one team? It doesn’t even seem possible.” 

Duke pressed his lips together. “They never leave each other, ever… But if it helps I don’t think that they are aware yet either.” 

"How could you NOT know?” 

There was a long pause and then Duke just shrugged. “Life happens, Max. It doesn’t matter how they figure it out, it’s their time to do so.” 

“They are so freaking _clueless_.” 

* 

Max became, okay, a little obsessed with the two Daemons. It was rude, he knew, it was downright indecent but he kept catching it and frankly he was confused how they were getting away with it at all. At one point Lena lay her head on Connor’s lap and Connor petted her ears. _Petted her ears_ , in public. And no one said anything. 

Beside Connor he could see Tobi’s smile go from it's normal smirk to a content grin and he looked over at Duke who was already looking at him and who mouthed a simple, ‘Their time’. 

That was barely okay to Max. But he swallowed and tried not to notice how Molly had curled up in the space between the two guys legs flipping her tail between them. The touch was just… So much. 

Sierra landed on her shoulder and lightly nipped his ear with her beak, which shouldn’t be comforting but was. He put a hand up and gave her a slight pat. She was sweet and kind and had the habit of telling him way before his blood sugar fell. He was so glad he met Duke when he did. It was cool having a soul mate. It gave you a lot of room to grow in new directions. 

“Stop staring,” she tweeted in his ear. “Weirdo.” 

He flicked under her beak and she nipped him again, only harder. 

* 

It was their annual Halloween party, the first without Mikey and Shane, so it was at Ollie’s house. Ollie had a large grey wolf of a Daemon but no one, _ever_ mentioned the dog. She didn’t talk or really interact with most of the team’s Daemons, not that she was under any obligations to do so or anything, but it was a little weird. 

He and Duke had dressed as a burger and a piece of pizza because those had been cheap at Target and because why the hell not? He had eaten as appropriately as possible for the day so he was rocking a nice buzz when he walked up to Tobi, a police officer to Connor’s felon, and stared him down. 

“What is UP with Molly and Lena?”

“What?” Tobi, who seemed just as buzzed as he was, blinked wide eyed at him. “I don’t know what you are talking about?” 

He put his hand towards Connor, who was eating Cheetos out of a bag in the open kitchen. “Lena is with Connor. She’s halfway across the room.” 

“Still in view,” he said casually. He also pointed to his feet where a familiar fox was winding around his legs happily. “And I have Molls, so I’m good.” 

“SEE, THAT’S EXACTLY IT!” Max said. “Molly with you, Lena with him. Them _together_. They …” He lowered his voice. “They nap together. I see it all the time.” 

Tobi tilted his head. “They are good friends. We are soul mates, it is good they are good friends, yes?” 

“FRIENDS?” Max yelled, far too loud. The people around them were looking. “That is beyond friendship. That is … ship… ship… a…” 

“Relationship?” Sierra chirped helpfully beside him. 

He pointed at her. “Exactly. That is a _relationship_. A fox and a pup don’t just sleep together, share food… That’s…” 

Tobi, who looked increasingly amused, nodded his head at Sierra. “Like a blue jay and a tabby cat who take rests together. Who talk to each other all the time and a bird who cleans up a cat’s hair? That kind of relationship?” 

Max put his hand up to Sierra, who obligingly twisted her head into his hand and rubbed at him. “They aren’t… what are you…?” 

“I say that we do not judge those before we judge ourselves, Max,” Tobi said, winking over Max's shoulder. It was at Connor, naturally, who was sauntering towards them with two red solo cups and a very happy looking Lena who was speaking in German. He was pretty sure that Connor didn’t speak German. At least 50 percent sure. 

He almost said something smart like, _”Wait, what?”_ except as soon as Lena and Molly got into the same vicinity they twirled together. Lena switched to English but Max couldn’t follow it and Molly tucked her head right under Lena’s ear with a smile. He looked between Connor and Tobi who shared a look and then turned it on Max. The laughter was a bit unfair. 

* 

Finding an empty room at Ollie’s house wasn’t _that_ difficult. He had like a dozen of them and except for his own room, none of them were taken. Max still felt like he was in a maze, with Duke following behind him asking repeatedly where they hell they were going. He felt like he was sobering by the second, but suddenly fewer things made sense. 

He opened a door and thanked everything no one was in it, especially not the Domingues as they were like rabbits… funny considering Kota and Pidge, their Daemons. But whatever. It wasn’t the time or place, _ever_ , to relive the horrible trauma of walking in on the Domingues going at it. He had brain bleached that. Mostly. 

Duke seemed mostly sober, which was good. One of them being fully sober would be great but he wasn’t dumb and it was Halloween and what was Uber for? But Duke looked at him with his eyebrows raised. Max, having thought a lot of thoughts in the last minutes, suddenly was blank. He opened and closed his mouth twice and then looked at Duke and just pointed. 

“What?” 

Max fumed. “You. I mean. _You_. Tobi… Tobi said. I was talking to Tobi about Molly and Lena and I was working really hard on trying to keep the conversation logical but he … he said…” 

“I speak two languages, Max, and I do not think you are using either,” Duke frowned. “What did Tobi say?” 

Max reached for his shoulder and looked for Sierra, but she wasn't there. He looked down at the ground, where she was instead perched happily on Clair’s back. Clair, for her part, was curled up and dozing. He pointed at them and looked at Duke. “When did that happen?” 

Duke looked down at Clair and Sierra. “You mean when did we get our Daemons. Juniors, surely you didn’t forget.” 

"I didn’t forget _getting them_ ,” he snapped. It had happened in half an instant, quicker than he ever thought possible. One second he was feeling slightly dizzy and then Duke took his hand and Sierra was just there. On his shoulder. Tweeting happily like she’d been there from birth. And it had, in a way, felt like she’d always been there. Clair had instantly curled between his legs and it just snapped together. “WHEN DID OUR DAEMONS START CUDDLING?” 

Duke put a hand to his mouth and it took a second for him to catch that he was holding back laughter, not astonishment. “Max. They cuddled the first night. In the box. Did Sierra not tell you?” 

Max looked down at his Daemon, who looked up at him with a flippant head cock, the one she reserved when he offered her food she disliked. 

“And they groom each other?” 

“Sierra picks at Clair’s fuzz,” Duke said. “Clair likes to lick her but only when she’s in a really good mood.” 

Max, feeling completely sober, put both of his hands up. “And this is just NORMAL to you?” 

The look that passed over Duke’s face spoke to the complete lack of normalcy. Words started echoing in his head, Duke’s words. ‘ _Their time_ ’. 

“We’re like… we’re…” He couldn’t quite get the words out of his mouth, not that he considered them bad or inappropriate but just something he’d never actually considered. Duke was his… Duke. His best friend. His teammate. His soul mate. And yeah, he hadn’t really dated in the years that he’d shared with Duke but it had been a mutual thing. They were focusing on being in the NHL, the freaking _SHOW_ , who has time for dating. 

Duke seemed to be waiting on him though, patiently. He wondered just how long Duke had been doing just that. Waiting on _him_ , to get his head out of his ass long enough to catch up on the fact that he was not just a soul mate but a _soulmate_. That he was freaking head over heels for his best friend who he happened to share a freaking bond with. 

“We’re soulmates.” 

Duke smiled, “We’ve been that for some time, Max.” 

Max felt a weird surge of annoyance. Perhaps at himself, for taking so long, or perhaps at Duke for being so okay with waiting. He walked the few steps between them and took Duke’s face in his hands, pushing his fingers into Duke’s cheeks and pulling him in for a warm kiss. 

He’d heard people talk about kissing their actual soulmate. Heard stories from Louis, from Shane. He’d seen all the cheesy movies. 

None of them even began to touch what he felt in that moment. His whole stomach felt like it was simultaneously dropping and filling with butterflies. His chest felt like a heart might burst out of it. He put his hands behind Duke’s neck so that he could bring himself closer, touch as much skin as humanly possible. 

Everything felt… better. Tastes were stronger, smells sweeter. He felt almost like he could curve his body into Duke’s and stay there. 

He pulled back slightly and noticed that his breathing was heavy and Duke had a smirk on his face. 

“Thank heavens,” Clair said, her eyes slit open. “I thought you’d never notice.” 

“Clair,” Duke admonished. “You’re ruining a moment here.” 

Sierra flew up to land on Max’s shoulder. “I’m with her, we thought you’d never get your lives together.” 

Max couldn’t help the smile that was spread across his face. He leaned over and kissed Duke again, soft and sweet. 

“It takes time, right?” 

Duke smiled at him. “Yeah.”


End file.
